“Nearly Nine Hours Of New Bonus Features” For The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition Blu-Ray

The US release of an extended cut of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has been officially announced with a quote from Peter Jackson:

I’m thrilled that the Extended Edition will give fans the opportunity to experience certain key scenes in the film as they were originally shot, as well as an abundance of special features. It’s exciting to present this expanded and enriched version of An Unexpected Journey to allow fans to fully immerse themselves in the movie, before seeing the second part of the trilogy.

The extended cuts of the Rings trilogy ended up being the definitive versions, I feel, and it would certainly be nice if this new version of The Hobbit is worth the same kind of excitement and affection.

According to Warner Bros., the discs will contain:

nearly nine hours of new bonus features

Which appears to mean a commentary track from Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens; a little featurette on how lovely New Zealand is – possibly one that was already issued online; and some five hours or so of “the appendices,” the in-depth documentaries about all facets of the film’s production.